Harris Pitches Muscular Foreign Policy, Nuance on Gaza

AFP/APP

Washington: Kamala Harris is making her pitch to voters as a strong defender of US interests while aiming for nuance on the issue of Gaza, hoping to address vulnerabilities and portray Republican Donald Trump as the riskier candidate on national security.

In her speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president, Harris vowed to “not cozy up to tyrants and dictators” who can flatter Trump as he “wants to be an autocrat himself.”

Harris’s message was predictably one of continuity with President Joe Biden but also positioned her as a rare Democrat seeking the White House on a message of being tougher on the global stage than the Republican.

Biden ran for president promising to end “forever wars” and pulled out of Afghanistan after 20 years. Obama, succeeding war leader George W. Bush, at his inauguration invited US adversaries to dialogue if “you unclench your fist.”

While Trump insists on withdrawing the US from foreign military engagements, he frequently boasts of his readiness to threaten extreme force—what he calls “peace through strength.”

Harris, striking a hawkish tone, pledged to maintain “the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world” and warned of retaliation against any Iranian-backed attack.

At a Chicago party convention featuring veterans, Harris also vowed solidarity with Ukraine and denounced Trump’s threats to withhold defense from NATO allies if they fail to meet financial commitments.

As the first female US president, Harris needs to go “above and beyond” to demonstrate her strength, according to Allison McManus of the Center for American Progress.

McManus pointed out that the public often perceives women as weaker leaders, necessitating a clear commitment to defense from Harris. However, McManus cautioned that Harris’s emphasis on force should not be mistaken for a truly hawkish foreign policy.